Number: RS22944
Title: Federal Trade Commission Guidance Regarding Tar and Nicotine Yields in Cigarettes
Authors: Vanessa K. Burrows, American Law Division 
Abstract: In 1966, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) stated that a cigarette test methodology known as the Cambridge Filter Method or FTC Test Method was the methodology "to be used to support any factual statements of tar and nicotine content of the mainstream smoke of cigarettes." The FTC statement did not mandate that cigarette companies state tar and nicotine yields on tobacco product packaging, but rather determined "the type of substantiation the Commission would deem adequate to support statements of tar and nicotine yields if cigarette companies choose to make such statements." Recently, the FTC issued a notice in the Federal Register that proposed to rescind this statement, reasoning that because the cigarette test method has "serious limitations," the FTC's allowance of factual statements regarding tar and nicotine based on the Cambridge Filter Method "may be confusing or misleading to consumers who believe they will get proportionately less of the harmful substances from cigarette smoke by smoking relatively lower-yield cigarettes." This report discusses the test method and the FTC's initial statement, implications of rescinding the FTC's guidance statement, and provisions in H.R. 1108, S. 625, and S. 2685.
Pages: 6
Date: Updated September 4, 2008